Jane Tremearne Zuke

Jane Tremearne Zuke passed away quickly and painlessly August 2 ^nd , 2022. It was the 1-year anniversary of her move from Maryland to Wisconsin. Having family support close by allowed her to live independently until her final moments. Jane spent the year making new friends, connecting with family, making her new home into a songbird destination, gardening, and going on all sorts of adventures. She is survived by her children Anne Kenny Chapman (Steve Kenny), John Zuke (Lesa Zuke), Carol Zuke Welling (BJ Welling), Laura Zuke, and Ralph Zuke (Danielle Rogers), grandchildren Kevin Kenny, Colin Kenny (Day Kenny), Brian Kenny, Scott Zuke (Katie Zuke), Orian Welling (Caroline Welling), Ariel Welling (Shashank Srivastava), Maddie Zuke, Finnegan Rogers, Calvin Rogers, and Quinn Rogers, and great grandchildren Beatrice and Theodore Kenny, and Esmei Welling.

Jane was born on March 24, 1932 to Margaret Chapman and Thomas Tremearne. She was influenced and taught by many remarkable women, including her mother Margaret, who was a first-grade teacher with an appetite for travel and learning about other cultures and traditions, her Aunt Katherine, a medical doctor at the beginning of today's modern medicine, and her older sister Anne, who was a talented musician.

Jane studied Biology at Antioch, and met her husband Bill (William) Zuke during a summer internship at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. Jane and Bill had 5 children, and raised them to be adventurous outdoor enthusiasts, animal lovers, activists and community builders. When her youngest was old enough she returned to school to study nursing. Jane approached all things with the scientific method. Her calendars and notebooks were full of documentation of the arrival of different songbirds each year, and up until her last days, she carefully observed all the plants growing along any path she walked

A woman of many talents, Jane was a seamstress, making beautiful clothing for her kids for special occasions. She made nearly all the food her family ate from scratch, and skillfully budgeted and stretched each dollar to feed and clothe 7. She played guitar and sang in choirs. She loved photography, especially of flowers and birds, and loved improving her technique. A forever learner, she was enrolled in a photography class at the time of her death at 90 years old.

Jane was a lifelong naturalist and animal lover, beginning in her childhood when she and her friends would bike to Rock Creek Park to find flowers and interesting plants, climb rocks, and play in the stream. When she had her own family, her household was full not only of her 5 children, but also an incredible array of pets and rescued wildlife. As she raised her children, they raised dogs, snakes, guinea pigs, chickens, parakeets, and cockateels, caterpillars and butterflies. Neighborhood kids brought any injured animal, or baby bird fallen from a nest, to be nursed back to health by Jane. She and her family went to great lengths to care for these animals, one time bringing an orphaned blue jay on a camping trip to have it visit the neighbor's campsite and steal the bacon they were cooking for breakfast. Over many years she developed her skill and infrastructure for rehabilitating birds, and became the regional expert for raptor rehabilitation, caring for injured birds-of-prey in flight cages in her back yard, or in some cases in her home (resulting in entertaining stories of baby owls observing family dinners from the dining room curtain rod). Around the time that her children began moving out of the family home to go to college, Jane discovered her love for German Shepherds. Her kids joked that she replaced them with dogs as they left home. Jane found great joy in the companionship of her dogs, their quirky personalities, in caring for them and going on adventures with them, and in the company of other dog-loving humans. Anyone who knew Jane knew that she was, at the deepest level possible, a dog person.

For decades Jane was the community steward for pets, plants, and birdfeeders when neighbors travelled. Her neighbors remember her for her annual cranberry bread deliveries, and reports on goings-on of the local wildlife. She stood firm for causes that mattered to her, donating to countless social and environmental causes. Beginning in her youth, in a time and place where segregation was legal and common, she was a vehement anti-racist. She worked hard to expose herself and her children to cultures, religions and experiences that were unfamiliar to them, forming deep and impactful friendships with people from all over the world.

Jane was not religious. She found meaning in the processes and patterns of nature, the innocent and eager affection of her dogs, and a sense of responsibility to support her local and global community. Jane Zuke will be missed deeply by many. She made a splash in this world, and the effects of her life will ripple through the lives of her family and friends for generations to come. Next time you see a butterfly flitting from flower to flower, please think of her, and stop for a moment to be in awe at the natural world in her memory.

A celebration of life will be arranged at a future date. Details will be posted on the Pisarski Funeral Home website once determined.